New to these forums.

[Carlos Aveleyra]

Hey i only just recently came across these forums, hahaha so glad i signed up. I currently use a 60watt gravograph LS900 and a 400watt chinese laser for work. I am currently looking at starting my own business for personal work that i have demand for but am currently stuck with the decision on wether to get a epilog 36 ext 75watt or a ULS professional 105 watt (had a 60 watt and 45 watt tube configuration) but the ULS is 2nd hand and comes with 6months warranty... im leaning more towards the epilog as it comes with 2 years warranty and it has auto focus and air assist. I have heard really bad reports about the gravograph machines on here, but with my experience i havent really had a problem with ours at all and ive been putting it through a average of 8 hours of work for the past 12 months...except for the excessive swaying movement that it makes when engraving compared to the epilogs and ULS's lol other than that its been fine but since ive been looking at epilogs and ULS's ive heard so many different things about them good and bad. My biggest query is what you all have to say about the tubes and optics in both. As our gravograph has a synrad tube and the optics are all fixed. How do the other 2 compare. I am going to be doing a lot of 6mm-10mm acrylic work.

[Mike Null]

Carlos

Welcome to SMC. Doing a search for Epilog and ULS will bring up many threads on both brands. We also have members who are distributors for both brands so they may chime in with some answers as well.

[Doug Griffith]

im leaning more towards the epilog as it comes with 2 years warranty and it has auto focus and air assist.

Nothing against Epilog, I have one and am very happy with it, but I personally wouldn't factor in auto focus as a determining factor. I never use it and from what I've read, most others don't either. Air assist is definitely a must.

Cheers,
Doug

[Mike Mackenzie]

Carlos,

The optics on the ULS systems are fixed as well except for the lens and #3 mirror they are attached to a plate that is removed for cleaning both the lens and mirror are fixed to this plate and can be easily replaced if necessary.

Regarding laser tubes the ULS tubes are manufactured by Universal they have been manufacturing there own tubes for about 10 years now they have several patents with there laser tubes and the lowest cost in the industry for re-processing.

I believe that epilog stopped using the synrad laser tubes quite some time ago and now uses Coherent / Deos laser tubes.

[Carlos Aveleyra]

Oh ok.. Well how does the ULS perform without air assist ive seen how they have a downdraft table, but if im cutting 10mm acrylic how is a flame not going to be produced. Also im just looking into the overall life of the laser tube and one that will be problem free for atleast a few years. Im not saying im expecting a dream laser where i will never have to replace anything. Im aware that things do wear and end up needing replacing, but if im buying a new machine or in the ULS im looking at case a 2nd hand one with very little wear. I want to be minimizing the ammount of money spent.

[Scott Shepherd]

You will need the air to cut that thick acrylic.

[Dave Laird in NM]

We have two ULS Lasers.

The first one is a 20 watt that we bought used and is one of the early ULS made tubes, 1996 manufactur, that is still running on a daily basis. No air assist, no auto focus, but a work horse for getting wood engraving and cutting done. We cut up to 1/4" wood on this machine.

The second machine is a 40 watt that previously owned and it has the air assist and the cutting table when we got it, no auto focus. We cut 1/4" acrylic on this machine with the air assist and 1.5" lens and have even cut 3/8" but it does work hard to do that. It is a 2005 model machine and it still has the orgional tube.

We added another cutting table for the 20 watt machine. A good investment.

We wouldn't have any other brand after these expierences.